Henry David Thoreau: An American Original

Best known for his book Walden, Henry David Thoreau had little success as an author during his lifetime, but is now considered one of the emblematic writers of the American Renaissance of the mid-19th nineteenth century. Walden, a non-fiction account of his life in a hut by Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts, remains one of the most original statements of American literature. Thoreau’s importance has far exceeded that of his friend, mentor, and fellow Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Walden has become a cultural icon.The idea of living by a pond or lake is part of the American mythos. Millions of Americans go, each year, to spend vacations in wooden huts by lakes around the country, fishing, barbecuing, and enjoying life in the woods, as Thoreau did. Henry “went to the woods to live deliberately”; most of us only go for a short vacation, but on a starlit night, amidst the silence of the forest, you can feel what drew Thoreau to seek out the solace of solitude, and revel, if only for a moment, in the same peace and oneness with nature.

Thoreau would be called a Luddite, if he were around today. And many of his comments on advances ring true; he saw many advances as bringing little to the appreciation of real life. Would Thoreau use an iPod? Probably not. But his message is worth reflecting on, as we burden ourselves with ever-increasing numbers of gadgets and devices.

As Thoreau said in Walden:

“Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which it was already but too easy to arrive at; as railroads lead to Boston or New York. We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate.”

But to better reflect on this, why not buy an audiobook version of Walden? Check out the iTunes Music Store, or Audible.com; there are several versions available: aAn abridged version, read by Archibald MacLeish, at just over one hour, gives you a taste of Thoreau through some of the best parts of the book. This version is only available from Audible.com. An unabridged version of Walden is available from both sources, and, at over 12 hours, will give you plenty of time to mull over Thoreau’s message. You can also download a free audiobook of Walden from Libribox; read by Librivox volunteer Gord Mackenzie, this version is excellent.

Or if you’d rather just read Walden, go to Gutenberg and download a copy to read on your computer, your iPod, or PDA. Or read it on-line, at the Thoreau Reader Or you could even go for one of those artifacts, called “books”, which require no batteries. You’ll find many editions of Walden in your local bookstore or library.

Here’s a link to several editions of Walden at Amazon.com.

PS: If you’re interested in Thoreau, why not join the Walden mailing list, a group of Thoreau fans who discuss his work and his ideas.